NEW LIFE

Intro

"Wake up sleepyhead, the driver will be here at 12noon". said his mother as she gave him a light nudge to wake him up. Lith had not been a deep sleeper, in fact, opening the doors of his room would have definitely been able to wake him up, if not for his recent weariness which caused his mother to worry a lot.

 "Good morning mom" he said as his eyes still tried to adapt to the sudden brightness." Good morning sunshine, go and take a shower while I prepare breakfast" his mom said. Although Lith looked tired outside, on the inside, he was feeling a mixture of happiness and sadness. Happiness because he was eager to go to school, create new friends and sad because he will miss his mom`s cooking as well as the privacy he enjoyed at home.

 Although Lith was just sixteen years old, he had a very masculine body that could make any girl drool. After taking his bath, he went to meet his younger sister in the kitchen. "Good morning brother Lith" his younger sister greeted him. Lena was a twelve year old girl with bright blue hazel eyes and had an impeccable beauty that sometimes made Lith wonder if she was adopted.

 'Good morning Lena" he replied giving her a small peck on her little forehead. "Need help with anything" he asked." Yeah, I would appreciate if you could help me chop these vegetables" his mother said as she handed him a tray of vegetables. This was one of the worst things Lith liked doing because it had taken him about three weeks to get used to cutting the vegetables without cutting of his fingers along, and even then, it needed his utmost concentration so he can`t talk or even listen to music while doing it.

 After what felt like an hour to him, he returned the vegetables to his mom. "Thanks" she said. Even though a rat might have done a better job than him, she still appreciated his thoughtfulness and concern. Although she looked happy on the surface, she was actually sad that he will be leaving the house.

 The Lauren family consisted of George, Lith, Lena, Mr. and Mrs. Lauren. George was in his third year in high school, while Mr. Lauren was as good as non-existent. He comes home like once every three years, and disappears so quickly leaving only Lith, Lena and their mother to take care of the four-bedroom apartment. Taking care of the house had not been a big deal since Lith was quite the hardworking type, but now that he is leaving, Elina their mother was sure to hire an house-help as there was only so much a young girl like Lena can do.

 After breakfast, with the help of his sister Lith arranged his bag. Shortly after packing his luggage. Elina began telling Lith a few things about San Diego. Although since he was going to study there, Lith had naturally done his research on the place such as the tourist site, the population, culture and most of the popular dishes and delicacies he promised himself to get a taste of when he is less busy. However, he didn`t stop Elina as he enjoyed the parental love and affection he was sure to miss.

 While they were still speaking, the door-bell rang Lena went tot open the door only to be met with a bored-looking tall man who looked like he could really use a twelve-hour sleep. "Hello, is there a young man named Lith living here" the taxi driver asked. His words woke up Lena from her trance. After all, the moment the driver arrived, her big brother will be gone for a long time.

 "Mom, the driver has arrived' she called. Lith and his mother rushed downstairs with his luggage. After loading his luggage in the trunk of the car, Lith looked at the buildings of Los Angeles for the last time in a long time. After all, this will be the first time he will be separated from his mother for longer than a month. His mother gave him a quick goodbye kiss as she wished him a successful journey. "Remember to call me when you get there" she said as she waved him goodbye with teary eyes. 

 The journey took a little over two hours for him to get to the National university located at San Diego.

 Although, it took more than two hours to get to San Diego, because of his anxiety, it looked like a day`s journey to him. Previously, Lith had done everything necessary including his allocation in which he had gotten a general map of the school in his head, so he didn`t have to ask for directions and directed the cab straight to the door of his dormitory.

 Along the way, Lith was staring out of the window to enjoy the beautiful scenery. While Lith was in college, he rarely attended parties since he usually had to prepare for the numerous competitions he partook in.

 However, his newly gained freedom coupled with the fact that he just became sixteen made his hormones become active and he began to think of those things he didn`t have the opportunity to do while in college. Lith barely attended any parties or had any intimate relationship with any lady while in college because most of his time was spent on preparing for scholarships or assisting his mom. He had to take a few deep breaths to clear his mind and prevent himself from doing something he would regret.

        Of course, his actions didn`t pass the driver who just shook his head slightly at the teenager. After settling down, Lith didn`t forget to thank the driver properly and even proposed to give the driver a little extra money which the driver politely refused saying he was just doing his job.

 Lith`s dormitory was a medium sized room with a single bed and a bunk, a triple-occupancy room. However, the design made it in such a way that each person still has his own privacy. Since Lith was the last person to resume, his roommates had chosen their beds so Lith was given the lower bunk in the bunk. Although Lith was not happy with staying in the lower bed, he couldn`t argue with them on his first day on such a trivial matter, so he resorted to the next best choice- bargain.

 "You wanna give me this upper bed for a dollar" Lith said. Although one dollar wasn`t something they couldn`t afford, they also didn`t care much about having the upper bed, besides they believed he is either an arrogant fool who likes to spend money recklessly or he his from a rich family. Either ways becoming friends with him and getting a one-dollar in addition was a deal too good to be true. A young Mexican-American boy named Derek was the current owner of the upper bed. "Deal" he said making Lith`s pocket twitch.

 He had brought such a generous offer up not just because he wanted a more private space where he will be able to read with less disturbance but also because he wanted them to have a good first-impression of him as they say "first impression matters". ''I just hope their friendship was worth the one dollar bill" he thought. Although Lith`s family was not poor, they were not rich either. After introducing himself to them and learning a little more about them he decided to take a quick nap hoping he will wake up in time to go out with his roommates for dinner.